Wirdheim in Vilanova: Thank you for the trade fair, Vilanova!

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Thank you for the trade fair, Vilanova!

November 12-15, our company Puck Import, S.L., participated in the Fira de Novembre of Vilanova i la Geltrú. We had two objectives with our stand – to build awareness for the Swedish RFSU brand and to promote ourselves as a local condom specialist – and I consider that we have been successful.

The cost to participate in this trade fair is relatively high but a part of the it has already been recuperated through direct sales - above all condoms but also lubricants and the new RFSU Private Area intimate shaving creams. True, a number of products disappeared from the stand without having been paid for, but if you consider how many young vilanovins have stepped forward to touch the water filled condoms of our decoration, the figures are almost acceptable.

In total, we have handed out 750 free condom samples. More than 200 teenagers have taken part in our simple quiz, in which the main prize is condoms for a whole year. Except for all face to face contacts, I was fortunate enough to be caught by the Garraf TV station Canal Blau/Maricel for an interview.

Our strategy to provide condoms with user instructions in Catalan was (as always) praised by the local Oficina de Normalització Lingüística and we were visited by friends and representatives from the political parties CUP and CiU, but also by young members from the PP who encouraged us in our activities. This means that we met the whole opposition (left-wing as well as right-wing) but nobody from the Vilanova’s tripartit government. Evil tongues will say that this reveals their lack of commitment to local business, but our company sells condoms. Does that not make us qualify as a “progressive” force of this town?

As an additional product, we offered the t-shirts “London, Berlin, New York, El Penedès, Shanghai”, marketed by the Penedesfera blogger community and from which all profits goes to the charity project Marató by TV3. Judging from the little interest we met – we sold one t-shirt – I can only draw the conclusion that Vilanova's inhabitants do not yet identify with the Penedès and the vegueria pròpia.

From a personal point of view, I was positively surprised to meet two readers of this blog in the stand. Although I invited you all to come and see me, I honestly never expected anyone to actually do so.

On a more serious note, I want to add that the people I will remember the most from these days are those who had their stands around ours. Most of them came from Latin America and Africa, and this reminded me that our family might have bought a company with poor timing, but as immigrants from a rich EU-country we are still so extremely privileged.

Thank you, Vilanova i la Geltrú, for these intense, and unusually warm November days! It is my plan to take part again next year, however, most likely, not as “direct sales”, but in the “promotion” area, since I now understand that this has a higher status. Having said that, I truly hope to meet many of you long before then - in the streets of our town or in the “Condom Shop of Vilanova”.